Fire destroys apartment building in downtown Unity

UNITY, Maine — A apartment building that mainly serves college students was destroyed by a fire Saturday.

There were no injuries, according to Unity Fire Chief Dennis Turner.

The blaze was initially reported as a chimney fire shortly after 10:30 a.m. at the 178 Main St. apartment building owned by Ralph Nathan. But when crews arrived it was determined to be a structure fire, he said.

In the past, the building had been a large house with an attached garage but has since been divided into small apartments. The construction made it difficult to fight the fire, he said.

Three people living on the bottom floor were able to get out of the building without injury and were being helped by the Red Cross, the chief said.

The fire started in the furnace room, he said.

Main Street was closed for several hours as crews from neighboring towns assisted in the firefighting. The final crews returned to the station at about 7 p.m.